Flyleaf

A flyleaf is the blank page at the front of a book. "It's the dedication page, the place you write a message to someone you're giving a book to," says lead singer, Lacy Mosley. "And, that's kind of what our songs are-personal messages that provide a few moments of clarity before the story begins. If people can know that they're not alone and recognize the hurt, they can hear our music as a means of hope and eventually taste real love. We want Flyleaf to be a relevant, spiritual quest to seeking truth and finding God."

Staying true to the pairing of heavy music and pained lyrics, Flyleaf confronts past traumas to heal old scars and prove in the process that hope shines brighter than despair.

"I think what we're doing is important," says Mosley, "because there needs to be something heavy out there that has a positive message so people see that it's possible to get through the worst situations."

Mosley knows about those hopeless situations firsthand. "My mom was a young single mother of six," she says. "We didn't have money and things were hard for all of us. We moved whenever we couldn't make ends meet in one place, and that happened pretty often. There was nothing constant in my life, and nothing to believe in. I got into some really bad stuff that I thought would make me feel more loved, or maybe just numb, but it cost me everything that was important to me, and literally almost took my life."

After turning to a life of drug use and rebellion, Mosley found continued frustration with her relationships at home and school. She decided suicide was the only option and had actually staged a method to take her life. However, one particular moment of meltdown became the very catalyst for which she'd turn her life around.

After planning to kill herself at the age of 16, she agreed to go to church with her Grandma just so she would stop yelling. She still planned on killing herself the next day. Sunday just so happened to be the next day, and as promised, church was on the agenda. It was in that setting where Mosley felt the glow of God for the first time, and felt as though the preacher was speaking directly to her, despite the two never having met.

"The preacher came on and started talking about experiences he'd come across in ministering, and it kind of described my whole life," she admits. "I was shocked, but then he started talking about how Jesus died so He could take our pain away, forgive us from our sins and set us free."

Finally when I was more desperate than I'd ever been, he asked if I wanted to pray, and I said 'yes.' I had my head in my hands, and he prayed for God's peace to come over me. Jesus saved me, and it was the most awesome freedom I've ever known."

When you take a dive, sometimes you have to hit the bottom before you can swim your way back to the top. For Mosley, writing songs about survival helped her reach the surface and breathe again. Five years ago, Mosley started playing music with drummer James Culpepper. The two joined up with Bhattacharya and Hartmann, who were in a local band that had just split up. Bassist Pat Seals joined in 2002. With the release of their self-titled debut last spring, and their live performances in general-market venues, Flyleaf is truly a light in a dark world.

For more on Flyleaf, visit flyleafmusic.com.

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